Bishop Airport offers to repay $1M loan early to help city of Flint

Sarah A. Miller | Flint Journal file photoA plane arrives in Flint from Detroit at Bishop International Airport in this April file photo. Bishop Airport officials have recently offered to pay off two years early a loan from the city of Flint to help with its finances. The loan was for various airport construction projects.

FLINT, Michigan — The city of Flint could get a generous $1-million cash boost from an unexpected source: Bishop Airport.

With the city facing a multimillion-dollar deficit, the Bishop Airport Authority Board has offered to repay two years early a loan that dates back 20 years — a much needed financial lifeline.

“Knowing they have a little bit of a cash flow problem we thought maybe it would help,” said Jim Rice, airport director. “We’re just trying to help them out.”

If the city agrees to the plan, the airport would pay back the loan at a discounted rate of $1,276,269 — about 4.5 percent, or $60,000, less than the original loan amount.

The money would be paid back into the capital improvement fund, which is for expenses such as building repairs and debt payments, city officials said.

Despite the city’s public safety budget crunch, the repayment could not be used for other expenses, such as the police or fire departments, said city Finance Director Michael Townsend.

“It would have to go back into the fund it came out of,” he said.

Townsend said the airport made the offer in a March letter to Flint Mayor Dayne Walling, “noting the financial difficulties of the city.”

The measure must first be approved by the Flint City Council, which is expected to consider the proposal at its next committee meeting Wednesday.

While there are still questions to be answered, some council members said they’re not going to turn down an extra $1 million.

“It’s great news,” Council President Delrico Loyd said. “We’re going to give it definite consideration.”

The original $1,336,000 interest-free loan was approved by the city council in 1990, right before the airport broke ground on a major renovation and expansion project.

The money covered various construction projects at Bishop, including an air freight ramp, a fire-crash rescue building and grass-mowing services, according to Flint Journal files.

It was one of the first of a series of renovations at the airport that transformed it into the regional hub it is today.

Councilman Scott Kincaid said the loan repayment could be used for improvements to city-owned structures or to make payments on debt. He cited the payments on the $10 million loan for the James W. Rutherford Parking Structure in downtown Flint as an example.

Perhaps most importantly, Kincaid said the repayment would give the city an extra $1 million cash that it wasn’t counting on.

He said the discounted amount of the repayment is a small price to pay to get the money this year.

“It’s a good gesture on the part of the airport,” he said. “It’s something they did not have to do. I’m glad they’re willing to offer it.”

Loyd offered his kudos to the airport officials as well.

“This is a testament to the hard work they’ve been doing out there,” he said.